E-procurement
How e-procurement (electronic procurement) works including e-bidding and e-bonding.
E-procurement (electronic procurement) process for the Government of Nova Scotia and public sector entities.
E-bidding
E-bidding uses a procurement tool to create, view, respond, submit and evaluate public tenders online. The Government of Nova Scotia and Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA) use SAP Ariba for e-bidding. Suppliers use SAP Ariba Discovery to access and submit specific tenders as part of the e-bidding process. Suppliers can only respond electronically through SAP Ariba for an e-bidding opportunity. Paper, email and other submission types are not accepted.
High value tenders that have an open competition and some low value tenders that have an invitational competition are available in SAP Ariba. Tenders that use Bid Express, Health Pro or Flextrack are not available in SAP Ariba.
For open competitions, the tender notice lets the supplier know if the tender is an e-bidding opportunity. Suppliers need to register (or sign in) to download tender documents and submit their response.
For some invitational competitions, suppliers receive an email from SAP Ariba inviting the supplier to the e-bidding opportunity. The email includes a link to the SAP Ariba event page where the supplier can review and respond to the opportunity.
E-bonding
Suppliers may need to provide a bid bond in an electronic format (e-bond) for construction projects. When required, suppliers need to submit a validated e-bond as an attachment in SAP Ariba as part of their bid response. Once the supplier receives the bond from a broker, a verification service needs to validate it.
Suppliers can use the Bid Bond Form (PDF) to provide the required bid security for construction projects. Or they can use the form as an example and prepare a bond on the security company's letterhead. If you prepare your own bond, you need to include all the details outlined on the form and include identical wording and punctuation. Suppliers can also use the Canadian Construction Documents Committee (CCDC) Bid Form.
Surety Association of Canada provides additional information about e-bonding.